Edgar Tekere
Encyclopedia
Edgar Zivanai Tekere was a Zimbabwe
an politician
. He was a president of the Zimbabwe African National Union
who organised the party during the Lancaster House
talks and served in government before his popularity as a potential rival to Robert Mugabe
caused their estrangement.
) Tekere was an early ally of Robert Mugabe within the Zimbabwe African National Union (of which he was a founder member in 1964) during the fight for independence and against the Rhodesian Front
government of Ian Smith
. Mugabe and Tekere, having served eleven and a half years in Hwa-Hwa Penitentiary & Gonakudzingwa State Prison as political prisoners of Ian Smith's government, immediately left upon release and crossed the Eastern Highlands Border in Mutare
through the mountains by foot, following the Gairezi river trail to Seguranza military camp in Mozambique
, to mastermind and kickstart guerilla warfare, aided by Samora Machel
, in 1975. The Bush War
or Second Chimurenga raged on. harassment of Tekere's close family members and relatives by the platoon of Rhodesian Front
Soldiers, Selous Scouts
, Police Special Branch and Central Intelligence Organisation, under the auspices of Ian Smith
.
During these trying times Edgar Tekere received the code name/nickname ("Mukoma") by close family members and relatives. Tekere was elected by a democratic process to be the first ZANU-PF Secretary-General following Zimbabwe's independence.
to perform at Rufaro Stadium, for the official Zimbabwean Independence Celebration. Marley's music was the inspiration for the guerilla freedom fighters whilst they were in the bush fighting. More than 100 000 Zimbabweans attended the concert, and Bob Marley performed the song "Zimbabwe", an unofficial Zimbabwean anthem. He also stayed with Edgar Tekere during this tour date.
's ZAPU outside Harare
but, failing to find them, went onto a neighboring farm and shot white farm manager Gerald Adams.
It is important to note that, at the trial, there was simply no evidence led that Edgar Tekere and his platoon had first gone looking for Zapu operatives before conducting a military style sweep of the farm on which the farmer was killed. There was no evidence that he had said that he was proud to have killed Gerald Adams. State Counsel Chris Glaum did not put this to any of the defendants. The trial was presided over by Judge John Pitman J. There were two assessors, Christopher Navavie Greenland, a provincial magistrate, and Peter Nemampara, a senior magistrate. The court was especially constituted to present as racially balance in that Judge Pitman was white, Greenland was a Euro-African and Nemampara was black. It was the first and last time that a court was constituted in this way.
Tekere was represented by Louis Blom-Cooper
QC, a flamboyant English counsel, and there were many confrontations between him and the presiding judge. The court was unanimous that Tekere was guilty of murder. However, by a majority, it found that as he had acted in "good faith" at the time, he was entitled to indemnification under a law that Ian Smith
, the previous Rhodesian Prime Minister, had ironically enacted despite widespread opposition to protect his security forces during the Bush War
. Any member of the country's security forces was exempt from conviction in respect of any crime committed if, at the time of commission, such member was acting in "good faith", acting in terms of a genuinely held conviction that the State's security interests were being served.
Greenland wrote the judgement in which the two assessors overruled Pitman on this issue. It was the first time in the history of the country that assessors overruled a judge. The assessors found that Tekere presented with a personality and mindset which was completely consistent with an unreasonable but genuinely held belief that he was acting in the interest of state security with the confrontation between one of his men and the farmer, in which the latter was killed, an unfortunate consequence of the security sweep which Tekere genuinely believed needed to be conducted.
In his book "The Other - without fear, favour or prejudice", Greenland reveals, for the first time in 2010, that Judge Pitman made a surprising and inexplicable "about-face", having first been firmly of the view that Tekere was entitled to the indemnity and then changing his mind without proferring good reason.
n security forces to prevent him from speaking to students after giving a newspaper interview in which he said he was proud of the killing of Gerald Adams. In July, Tekere referred to some ZANU representatives as having "inherited the colonial mentality," which was straining relations between them and the party's supporters. Mugabe hit back by saying "Those who are complaining that the revolution is not continuing... are the most immoral and laziest in the party." Tekere was increasingly seen as a leader of a rival faction to Mugabe, and was dismissed as Secretary-General on 9 August with Mugabe taking the post himself.
After criticising corruption in the party, in August 1984 Tekere was elected to the Central Committee of ZANU-PF and carried shoulder-high from the Congress; he was also being supported by the Whites in Zimbabwe
after opposing the farm squats by ZANU-PF) supporters which he described as "donga watonga" (chaotic government). He was provincial chairman of ZANU-PF in Mutare
.
He ran against Robert Mugabe in the 1990 Presidential race as the candidate of the Zimbabwe Unity Movement, offering a broadly free market platform against Mugabe's communist-style economic planning. Edgar Tekere received unprecedented support for his opposition to Mugabe which led to massive election rigging by ZANU in order for Mugabe to win the election on 1 April 1990 receiving 2,026,976 votes while Tekere only got 413,840 (16% of the vote). At the simultaneous Parliamentary elections the ZUM won 20% of the vote but only two seats in the House of Assembly. Zimbabwe Unity Movement supporters were the targets of violent attacks from supporters of ZANU (PF) and five candidates were murdered. A student representative Israel Mutanhaurwa of ZUM was abducted in broad daylight by suspected state agents at the local cinemas in Gweru
to be dumped unharmed on the outskirts of Mkoba a local surbub. No-one was arrested or convicted of the crime. Those convicted of the attempted murder of former Gweru
Mayor Patrick Kombayi who was shot in lower abdomen but survived the shooting, were pardoned immediately afterwards.
but was rebuffed. In 2006 it was reported that he had rejoined ZANU (PF). A letter sent to him by ZANU (PF) national chairman John Nkomo
dated 7 April 2006 said "You will not exercise your right to be elected to any office in the party for a period of five years. You will be required to uphold all the duties of a member listed in Article 3, Section 18 of the amended Zanu PF constitution".
, an independent candidate who was running against Mugabe in the March 2008 presidential election
. Tekere said that he was "appointing [him]self principal campaigner for Mugabe's downfall".
in front of a crowd of 40,000 people who had gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding and formation of the MDC
political party led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was a president of the Zimbabwe African National Union
Zimbabwe African National Union
The Zimbabwe African National Union was a militant organization that fought against the standing government in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union...
who organised the party during the Lancaster House
Lancaster House Agreement
The negotiations which led to the Lancaster House Agreement brought independence to Rhodesia following Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. The Agreement covered the Independence Constitution, pre-independence arrangements, and a ceasefire...
talks and served in government before his popularity as a potential rival to Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
caused their estrangement.
Pre-Independence
During the war, Tekere served on the ZANU high command, or Dare reChimurenga. He was detained by the Rhodesian government at Gonakudzingwa.Early life
Edgar Zivanai "2-Boy" (nom de guerrePseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
) Tekere was an early ally of Robert Mugabe within the Zimbabwe African National Union (of which he was a founder member in 1964) during the fight for independence and against the Rhodesian Front
Rhodesian Front
The Rhodesian Front was a political party in Southern Rhodesia when the country was under white minority rule. Led first by Winston Field, and, from 1964, by Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Front was the successor to the Dominion Party, which was the main opposition party in Southern Rhodesia during the...
government of Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
. Mugabe and Tekere, having served eleven and a half years in Hwa-Hwa Penitentiary & Gonakudzingwa State Prison as political prisoners of Ian Smith's government, immediately left upon release and crossed the Eastern Highlands Border in Mutare
Mutare
Mutare is the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, with a population of around 170,000. It is the capital of Manicaland province.-History:...
through the mountains by foot, following the Gairezi river trail to Seguranza military camp in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, to mastermind and kickstart guerilla warfare, aided by Samora Machel
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
, in 1975. The Bush War
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...
or Second Chimurenga raged on. harassment of Tekere's close family members and relatives by the platoon of Rhodesian Front
Rhodesian Front
The Rhodesian Front was a political party in Southern Rhodesia when the country was under white minority rule. Led first by Winston Field, and, from 1964, by Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Front was the successor to the Dominion Party, which was the main opposition party in Southern Rhodesia during the...
Soldiers, Selous Scouts
Selous Scouts
The Selous Scouts was a special forces regiment of the Rhodesian Army, which operated from 1973 until the introduction of majority rule in 1980. It was named after British explorer Frederick Courteney Selous , and their motto was pamwe chete, which, in the Shona language, roughly means "all...
, Police Special Branch and Central Intelligence Organisation, under the auspices of Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
.
During these trying times Edgar Tekere received the code name/nickname ("Mukoma") by close family members and relatives. Tekere was elected by a democratic process to be the first ZANU-PF Secretary-General following Zimbabwe's independence.
Independence Celebration and Bob Marley
Edgar Tekere being the ZANU-PF Secretary General, personally invited Bob MarleyBob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
to perform at Rufaro Stadium, for the official Zimbabwean Independence Celebration. Marley's music was the inspiration for the guerilla freedom fighters whilst they were in the bush fighting. More than 100 000 Zimbabweans attended the concert, and Bob Marley performed the song "Zimbabwe", an unofficial Zimbabwean anthem. He also stayed with Edgar Tekere during this tour date.
Murder charge
When ZANU won the 1980 elections, Tekere was appointed as Minister of Manpower Planning in Mugabe's Cabinet. He followed his appointment by making a series of outspoken speeches that went far beyond government policy. Shortly after his appointment, on 4 August 1980 he greeted then-Prime Minister Mugabe and visiting President of Mozambique Samora Machel in combat fatigues, announcing that he was going "to fight a battle." Tekere and his bodyguards went looking for supporters of Joshua NkomoJoshua Nkomo
Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo was the leader and founder of the Zimbabwe African People's Union and a member of the Kalanga tribe...
's ZAPU outside Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
but, failing to find them, went onto a neighboring farm and shot white farm manager Gerald Adams.
Trial
Tekere retained his government post when he went on trial together with seven bodyguards who were all former guerilla fighters in the independence war. On 8 December the High Court, on a majority decision, found him not guilty of murder. Both assessors, overruling the judge, held that while Tekere had killed Adams, he was acting in terms of an utter conviction that State Security was at risk.It is important to note that, at the trial, there was simply no evidence led that Edgar Tekere and his platoon had first gone looking for Zapu operatives before conducting a military style sweep of the farm on which the farmer was killed. There was no evidence that he had said that he was proud to have killed Gerald Adams. State Counsel Chris Glaum did not put this to any of the defendants. The trial was presided over by Judge John Pitman J. There were two assessors, Christopher Navavie Greenland, a provincial magistrate, and Peter Nemampara, a senior magistrate. The court was especially constituted to present as racially balance in that Judge Pitman was white, Greenland was a Euro-African and Nemampara was black. It was the first and last time that a court was constituted in this way.
Tekere was represented by Louis Blom-Cooper
Louis Blom-Cooper
Sir Louis Jacques Blom-Cooper QC FKC is an author and UK lawyer specialising in public law and administrative law.-Education:...
QC, a flamboyant English counsel, and there were many confrontations between him and the presiding judge. The court was unanimous that Tekere was guilty of murder. However, by a majority, it found that as he had acted in "good faith" at the time, he was entitled to indemnification under a law that Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
, the previous Rhodesian Prime Minister, had ironically enacted despite widespread opposition to protect his security forces during the Bush War
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...
. Any member of the country's security forces was exempt from conviction in respect of any crime committed if, at the time of commission, such member was acting in "good faith", acting in terms of a genuinely held conviction that the State's security interests were being served.
Greenland wrote the judgement in which the two assessors overruled Pitman on this issue. It was the first time in the history of the country that assessors overruled a judge. The assessors found that Tekere presented with a personality and mindset which was completely consistent with an unreasonable but genuinely held belief that he was acting in the interest of state security with the confrontation between one of his men and the farmer, in which the latter was killed, an unfortunate consequence of the security sweep which Tekere genuinely believed needed to be conducted.
In his book "The Other - without fear, favour or prejudice", Greenland reveals, for the first time in 2010, that Judge Pitman made a surprising and inexplicable "about-face", having first been firmly of the view that Tekere was entitled to the indemnity and then changing his mind without proferring good reason.
Rivalry with Mugabe
Tekere was dismissed from the government on 11 January 1981, a decision he was reported to be happy with; he retained the Secretary-Generalship of ZANU. In April 1981 he was detained by KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n security forces to prevent him from speaking to students after giving a newspaper interview in which he said he was proud of the killing of Gerald Adams. In July, Tekere referred to some ZANU representatives as having "inherited the colonial mentality," which was straining relations between them and the party's supporters. Mugabe hit back by saying "Those who are complaining that the revolution is not continuing... are the most immoral and laziest in the party." Tekere was increasingly seen as a leader of a rival faction to Mugabe, and was dismissed as Secretary-General on 9 August with Mugabe taking the post himself.
After criticising corruption in the party, in August 1984 Tekere was elected to the Central Committee of ZANU-PF and carried shoulder-high from the Congress; he was also being supported by the Whites in Zimbabwe
Whites in Zimbabwe
White Zimbabweans are people from the southern African country Zimbabwe who identify themselves as white...
after opposing the farm squats by ZANU-PF) supporters which he described as "donga watonga" (chaotic government). He was provincial chairman of ZANU-PF in Mutare
Mutare
Mutare is the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, with a population of around 170,000. It is the capital of Manicaland province.-History:...
.
Zimbabwe Unity Movement
Tekere supported Mugabe at the 1985 elections but by October 1988 his consistent criticism of corruption resulted in his expulsion from the party. When Mugabe voiced his belief that Zimbabwe would be better governed as a one party state, Tekere strongly disagreed, saying "A one-party state was never one of the founding principles of ZANU-PF and experience in Africa has shown that it brought the evils of nepotism, corruption and inefficiency."He ran against Robert Mugabe in the 1990 Presidential race as the candidate of the Zimbabwe Unity Movement, offering a broadly free market platform against Mugabe's communist-style economic planning. Edgar Tekere received unprecedented support for his opposition to Mugabe which led to massive election rigging by ZANU in order for Mugabe to win the election on 1 April 1990 receiving 2,026,976 votes while Tekere only got 413,840 (16% of the vote). At the simultaneous Parliamentary elections the ZUM won 20% of the vote but only two seats in the House of Assembly. Zimbabwe Unity Movement supporters were the targets of violent attacks from supporters of ZANU (PF) and five candidates were murdered. A student representative Israel Mutanhaurwa of ZUM was abducted in broad daylight by suspected state agents at the local cinemas in Gweru
Gweru
Gweru is a city near the centre of Zimbabwe at . It has a population of about 146,073 , making it the third largest city in the nation. Gweru is the capital of Midlands Province. Gweru was founded in 1894 by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson. The first bank opened in Gweru in 1896, and the stock exchange...
to be dumped unharmed on the outskirts of Mkoba a local surbub. No-one was arrested or convicted of the crime. Those convicted of the attempted murder of former Gweru
Gweru
Gweru is a city near the centre of Zimbabwe at . It has a population of about 146,073 , making it the third largest city in the nation. Gweru is the capital of Midlands Province. Gweru was founded in 1894 by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson. The first bank opened in Gweru in 1896, and the stock exchange...
Mayor Patrick Kombayi who was shot in lower abdomen but survived the shooting, were pardoned immediately afterwards.
Politics after 1990
Tekere dropped out of sight after the election, fuelling rumours that he was planted as an opposition figure. In 2005 he voiced his wish to stand as a ZANU (PF) candidate for the Senate of ZimbabweSenate of Zimbabwe
The Senate of Zimbabwe is the upper chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. It existed from 1980 to 1989, and was re-introduced in November 2005....
but was rebuffed. In 2006 it was reported that he had rejoined ZANU (PF). A letter sent to him by ZANU (PF) national chairman John Nkomo
John Nkomo
John Landa Nkomo is a Zimbabwean politician, serving as Vice-President of Zimbabwe. After serving for years as a minister in the government of Zimbabwe, he was the Speaker of Parliament from 2005 to 2008. He was then appointed to the Senate in 2008 and was Minister of State in the President's...
dated 7 April 2006 said "You will not exercise your right to be elected to any office in the party for a period of five years. You will be required to uphold all the duties of a member listed in Article 3, Section 18 of the amended Zanu PF constitution".
2008 Makoni presidential campaign
At a rally on 2 March 2008 in Highfield, a suburb of Harare, Tekere endorsed Simba MakoniSimba Makoni
Simbarashe Herbert Stanley Makoni is a Zimbabwean politician and was a candidate for the March 2008 presidential election against incumbent Robert Mugabe. He was Minister of Finance and Economic Development in President Robert Mugabe's cabinet from 2000 to 2002...
, an independent candidate who was running against Mugabe in the March 2008 presidential election
Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008
The Republic of Zimbabwe held a presidential election along with a parliamentary election on 29 March 2008. The three major candidates were incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front , Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change , and...
. Tekere said that he was "appointing [him]self principal campaigner for Mugabe's downfall".
MDC 10th anniversary celebrations
On Sunday, 16 August 2009 at Sakubva Stadium in Mutare in Manicaland. Edgar Tekere was the guest of honour for the MDCMDC
MDC usually refers to:*Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai , a Zimbabwean political party**Movement for Democratic Change , a former Zimbabwean political party that split in 2005 into the MDC-T and MDC-M...
in front of a crowd of 40,000 people who had gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding and formation of the MDC
MDC
MDC usually refers to:*Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai , a Zimbabwean political party**Movement for Democratic Change , a former Zimbabwean political party that split in 2005 into the MDC-T and MDC-M...
political party led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
Morgan Tsvangirai
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai is the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. He is the President of the Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai and a key figure in the opposition to President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on 11 February 2009...
.